Thermally Insulated Container

ABSTRACT

A thermally insulated container for maintaining food and beverages in a cold state includes a tube and a shell. The tube has an inner sidewall and an outer sidewall. A bottom is coupled to the inner sidewall proximate to a lower end of the tube. The shell has an inner wall and an outer wall. The shell has a top that is open and complementary to the lower end of the tube. A first coupler that is coupled proximate to the lower end of the tube and a second coupler that is coupled proximate to the top of the shell are positioned to couple the shell to the tube. A cavity defined by the inner wall is positioned to fill with water to freeze into ice. A reservoir defined by the inner sidewall and the bottom is configured to position items, such as food and beverages.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIE THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM.

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98.

The disclosure and prior art relates to containers and more particularly pertains to a new container for maintaining food and beverages in a cold state.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a tube and a shell. The tube has an inner sidewall and an outer sidewall. A bottom is coupled to the inner sidewall proximate to a lower end of the tube. The shell has an inner wall and an outer wall. The shell has a top that is open and complementary to the lower end of the tube. A first coupler that is coupled proximate to the lower end of the tube and a second coupler that is coupled proximate to the top of the shell are positioned to couple the shell to the tube. A cavity defined by the inner wall is positioned to fill with water to freeze into ice. A reservoir defined by the inner sidewall and the bottom is configured to position items, such as food and beverages. The ice maintains the item in a cold state.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric perspective view of a thermally insulated container according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a side view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 5 thereof, a new container embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 5, the thermally insulated container 10 generally comprises a tube 12 and a shell 14. The tube 12 has an inner sidewall 16 and an outer sidewall 18 that define an internal space 20. A bottom 22 is coupled to the inner sidewall 16 proximate to a lower end 24 of the tube 12. The inner sidewall 16 and the bottom 22 define a reservoir 26. In one embodiment, the bottom 22 is round, such that the tube 12 is cylindrically shaped.

The shell 14 has an inner wall 28 and an outer wall 30 that define an interior space 32. The inner wall 28 defines a cavity 34. The shell 14 has a top 36 that is complementary to the lower end 24 of the tube 12. The top 36 is open.

A first coupler 38 is coupled to the lower end 24 of the tube 12. A second coupler 40 is coupled proximate to the top 36 of the shell 14. The second coupler 40 is complementary to the first coupler 38. The second coupler 40 is positioned to couple to the first coupler 38 to couple the shell 14 to the tube 12. The shell 14 and the bottom 22 of the tube 12 define a chamber 42. In one embodiment, the second coupler 40 comprises male threads 44. The male threads 44 are positioned to couple to female threads 46 positioned on the tube 12.

In one embodiment, a refrigerant 48 is positioned in and occupies both the internal space 20 and the interior space 32. In another embodiment, the refrigerant 48 is liquid. In yet another embodiment, the refrigerant 48 is gelatinous.

In one embodiment, the refrigerant 48 comprises hydroxyethyl cellulose. In another embodiment, the refrigerant 48 comprises sodium polyacrylate. In yet another embodiment, the refrigerant 48 comprises vinyl coated silica gel.

In one embodiment, a handle 50 is coupled to the outer sidewall 18. The handle 50 is positioned on the tube 12 and is configured to insert one or more fingers of a hand of a user. In another embodiment, the handle 50 comprises a pair of extenders 52 and a rod 54. Each extender 52 is coupled to and extends substantially perpendicularly from the outer sidewall 18. The rod 54 is coupled to and extends between the extenders 52 distal from the outer sidewall 18, defining a slot 56. In one embodiment, the rod 54 is arcuate.

The present invention also anticipates that the tube 12 comprises food storage and serving containers, such as plates, bowls and lunch boxes.

In use, the cavity 34 of the shell 14 is positioned to fill with water. The shell 14 and the tube 12 are configured to position in a freezer, such that the refrigerant 48 and the water positioned in the cavity 34 are frozen. The second coupler 40 is positioned to couple to the first coupler 38 to couple the shell 14 to the tube 12. The ice that is positioned in the cavity 34 is contained in the chamber 42 defined by the shell 14 and the bottom 22 of the tube 12. The reservoir 26 is configured to position items, such as food and beverages. The refrigerant 48 and the ice maintain the items positioned in the reservoir 26 in a cold state.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements. 

I claim:
 1. A thermally insulated container comprising: a tube having an inner sidewall and an outer sidewall defining an internal space; a bottom coupled to said inner sidewall proximate to a lower end of said tube, such that said inner sidewall and said bottom define a reservoir; a shell having an inner wall and an outer wall defining an interior space, said inner wall defining a cavity, said shell having a top complementary to said lower end of said tube, said top being open; a first coupler coupled proximate to said lower end of said tube; a second coupler coupled proximate to said top of said shell, said second coupler being complementary to said first coupler, wherein said second coupler is positioned on said shell such that said second coupler is positioned to couple to said first coupler to couple said shell to said tube, such that said shell and said bottom of said tube define a chamber; and wherein said cavity of said shell is positioned for filling with water, such that the water positioned in said cavity is freezable, wherein said second coupler is positioned to couple to said first coupler to couple said shell to said tube, wherein ice positioned in said cavity is contained in said chamber, such that said reservoir is configured for positioning of items, such as food and beverages, wherein the ice provides cooling of the item positioned in said reservoir.
 2. The container of claim 1, further including said bottom being round, such that said tube is cylindrically shaped.
 3. The container of claim 2, further including said second coupler comprising male threads, wherein said male threads are positioned on said shell such that said male threads are positioned to couple to female threads positioned on said tube.
 4. The container of claim 1, further including a refrigerant positioned in and occupying said internal space and said interior space.
 5. The container of claim 4, further including said refrigerant being liquid.
 6. The container of claim 4, further including said refrigerant being gelatinous.
 7. The container of claim 6, further including said refrigerant comprising hydroxyethyl cellulose.
 8. The container of claim 6, further including said refrigerant comprising sodium polyacrylate.
 9. The container of claim 6, further including said refrigerant comprising vinyl coated silica gel.
 10. The container of claim 1, further including a handle coupled to said outer sidewall, wherein said handle is positioned on said tube such that said handle is configured for insertion of one or more fingers of a hand of a user.
 11. The container of claim 10, further including said handle comprising: a pair of extenders, each said extender being coupled to and extending substantially perpendicularly from said outer sidewall; and a rod, said rod being coupled to and extending between said extenders distal from said outer sidewall defining a slot.
 12. The container of claim 11, further including said rod being arcuate.
 13. A thermally insulated container comprising: a tube having an inner sidewall and an outer sidewall defining an internal space; a bottom coupled to said inner sidewall proximate to a lower end of said tube, such that said inner sidewall and said bottom define a reservoir, said bottom being round, such that said tube is cylindrically shaped; a shell having an inner wall and an outer wall defining an interior space, said inner wall defining a cavity, said shell having a top complementary to said lower end of said tube, said top being open; a first coupler coupled proximate to said lower end of said tube; a second coupler coupled proximate to said top of said shell, said second coupler being complementary to said first coupler, wherein said second coupler is positioned on said shell such that said second coupler is positioned to couple to said first coupler to couple said shell to said tube, such that said shell and said bottom of said tube define a chamber, said second coupler comprising male threads, wherein said male threads are positioned on said shell such that said male threads are positioned to couple to female threads positioned on said tube; a refrigerant positioned in and occupying said internal space and said interior space, said refrigerant being liquid, said refrigerant being gelatinous, said refrigerant comprising hydroxyethyl cellulose, said refrigerant comprising sodium polyacrylate said refrigerant comprising vinyl coated silica gel; a handle coupled to said outer sidewall, wherein said handle is positioned on said tube such that said handle is configured for insertion of one or more fingers of a hand of a user, said handle comprising a pair of extenders and a rod, each said extender being coupled to and extending substantially perpendicularly from said outer sidewall, said rod being coupled to and extending between said extenders distal from said outer sidewall defining a slot, said rod being arcuate; and wherein said cavity of said shell is positioned for filling with water, such that said shell and said tube are configured for positioning in a freezer, such that said refrigerant and the water positioned in said cavity are freezable, wherein said second coupler is positioned to couple to said first coupler to couple said shell to said tube, wherein the ice positioned in said cavity is contained in said chamber, such that said reservoir is configured for positioning of items, such as food and beverages, such that said refrigerant and said ice provide cooling of the items positioned in said reservoir. 